Defining the jukebox musical through a historical approach: From the beggar’s opera to nice work if you can get it
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Abstract
Musical theatre as a form of scholarly study has only recently begun to gain prominence as a legitimate form worthy of examination in academia. As this field gains ground, it is important to delineate its various forms. This study provides definitions for the jukebox, movical (movie musical), musical revue, revival, and concert musical productions while differentiating them for each other. How can my formal definition of the “jukebox musical” be applied to these particular musical theatre pieces as a method of expanding and extending the current ambiguous definition into an embodied theatrical praxis through a rigorous historicized application? Currently these terms are used interchangeably by critics, scholars, academics and enthusiasts; this may cause confusion and inaccurate accounts of the particular musical production being discussed or analyzed. Through the distinctive definitions provided within this dissertation, further scholarly examination, debate, and discussion will provoke more constructive discourse. The jukebox musical should not be dismissed for its popularity or its association with commercialism, as it is part of the musical theatre lexicon and should continue to be studied as the phenomenon it is in contemporary theatre culture.